Apple & Google PhD Fellowships
Notice
Applications for the 2026 cycle of the Google PhD Fellowship Program are now open.
What are industry PhD Fellowships?
Industry PhD Fellowships are awarded by companies to current PhD students, to recognise achievement in their field. They are usually aimed at students in their later years (2-4). They usually include some or all of the following elements:
- a donation towards the student’s university fees and living expenses (administered by the Department on the student’s behalf)
- travel allowance / research expenses
- internship opportunities
- mentorship with an employee from the company
- networking with other Fellows
The School of Technology coordinates the University’s internal selection process for nominations to industry PhD Fellowships. The most common Fellowships are:
Apple Scholars in AI/ML PhD Fellowships
Do they provide PhD funding?
Industry PhD Fellowships function like an academic prize, and are aimed at existing students.
These Fellowships are NOT suitable as a sole source of PhD funding for incoming students, for three reasons:
- The cash donation does not cover the full costs of a PhD, whether home or overseas fees.
- The Fellowships are aimed at later-stage students, and it is very unlikely that an incoming student would be competitive against existing students, unless they had significant industry experience prior to their PhD.
- The timing of industry PhD Fellowships varies year by year, and usually does not sync up with the deadline to meet the financial conditions of admission to the University.
How can I apply for a Fellowship?
Students cannot apply directly to companies for these Fellowships. Instead, each University is allowed to submit (typically) three nominations.
At Cambridge we run an internal selection process, in which students send outline applications to the School of Technology Office. A panel of academics selects the nominees for the Scheme, based on the funder criteria, and the School Office then works with nominees to put together a full application and submit this to the funder.
Details of the internal selection process and deadlines are circulated to Department Graduate Offices and Research Offices each year. Students must provide a letter of support from their Department as part of their outline application, and each Department will send instructions for obtaining this when they circulate details to their students.
Applications are now open for the Google PhD Fellowship 2026.
Students should apply directly to the School by Sunday 29th March 2025 by completing the outline application form (Microsoft login required). The form will automatically close at 09:00 on Monday 30th March and applications after this time will not be accepted.
Each application must include the following documents, preferably combined into a single pdf:
- Completed summary sheet
- CV including publications (no photo or date of birth)
- 1 page research proposal
- Brief statement of why you are applying and the expected impact of the fellowship on your career (max. 1 page)
Ask your PhD supervisor to submit an online reference for you via the supervisor reference form. This must be received by 09:00 on Monday 30th March. Applications without a corresponding reference will be not be accepted; it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure references are received in time. If your PhD supervisor is on leave during this time, you may request a reference from your Adviser instead.
If you are selected as one of the University’s nominees for submission to Google, you will be invited to write a full application in time for the funder’s deadline of 30th April. You must be available to complete your application in the weeks commencing 13th April and 20th April.
Funder deadline: 30th April 2026.
Can students apply for a Fellowship before they begin their PhD?
No, we do not allow this. Applications to the internal selection process are only accepted from current PhD students in year 1 onwards. This is because the number of applications received is extremely high, the funders usually aim these schemes at later-stage students, and therefore incoming students are highly unlikely to have enough experience to be competitive.
What are companies looking for?
This varies by scheme. Always read carefully the funder website and/or any information included in the email advertising the scheme, before writing your application.
When will the next opportunities open?
Google AI/ML Fellowship 2026 applications are now open.
Applications for the Apple PhD Fellowship will next run in summer 2026.
Contact for more information
If your question is not answered here, please email PhDFellowships@tech.cam.ac.uk.